Las Novias Taqueria- Traditional Grandmas Serve It Up!

A typical Sunday morning in a Mexican household means one of two things: menudo or barbacoa. The story of my morning actually begins yesterday when I got lost in Houston's East End. Laced with Mexican restaurants the East End can make you forget what side of the boarder you are on. Across from the Sellers Brothers grocery store on Cesar Chavez Blvd and Canal Street sits a taqueria/tortilleria that could easily be mistaken for a mechanic's garage; passing by I made a mental note, "this I've gotta try." So this morning I made my way back to the East End to give this play a try. 

Parking

Normally I mention parking at the end of my reviews but this something to keep in mind, when I got to Las Novias I was presented with two options, park at Sellers Brothers or park across the street in an abandoned shopping strip-neither of which are great options, though some street parking is available.

Atmosphere 

Seemingly plucked off of a street in Mexico, Las Novias reminds me of the tiny shops that give the streets of Mexico such charm. Las Novias provides indoor and outdoor seating both of which are fitted with a service window allowing one to order from either inside or out. I chose to go inside and place an order to get a good view of the establishment. At the counter I was greeted by three older women, all of which reminded me of Mexican grandmothers, dressed in their own unique aprons and muumuu dresses. Even though they do not have a set menu displayed you can easily ask the abuelitas what they offer. If you don't speak spanish don't hesitate to order they have English speaking staff, if you're familar enough with  Meixcan food then you can peak to the side into one of the seven serving trays they have. They serve entrees like menudo and red mole as well as a variety of tacos, including carnitas, barbacoa, chorizo and egg, potato and egg, fajita, and others. 

Tacos

In order to capture this establishments flavors I decided on the chorizo and egg, barbacoa, and egg and peppers tacos. The service in one word: Fast. They were very gracious, offering any number of their salsas, recommending their corn tortillas and information about when they were open. Wanting to take someone along, I took my sister Dee. She ordered a potato and egg taco and a chorizo taco. While we did not receive a receipt I am sure upon request they would be happy to provide one if desired.You can choose between flour or corn The tacos came in a traditional double tortilla, double stuffed manner. 

                                                                           

Delicious. 

The tacos reminded me of Mexico. The tortillas were soft but substantial; although they were packed with food that moist they refused to break or melt away. I could have easily eaten two and been full but I wanted to try all three. I must mention they are a bit greasy, but they are flavor packed. I tired each of their salsas in the different tacos, not one failed to magnify a flavor unique to the Mexican pallet  The barbacoa was lean and moist, lightly seasoned, and tender. the egg and chorizo was covered in chorizo, which did make it greasy, but I prefer that to pepper chorizo that is found in most Tex-Mex restaurants  I have been in search of an egg and peppers taco for a very long time, having only found it once at a taco truck and found it again here. My sister enjoyed her potato and egg taco which featured a soft, moist potato. Clean up was easy since the tacos were served in a fry basket. 

These tacos ensured that we would both venture back to the East Side soon. 

Price

The entire order of five tacos and two cans of soda came out to $8.75. For tacos of this calibur it is an absolute steal; you would have a hard time beating these prices anywhere in Houston. 

Things to Note

Las Novias only accepts cash, so make sure to stop by an ATM before hand. Luckily, an ATM can be found across the street at the Sellers Brothers market. Their is limited seating both inside and out, so if coming in a big group it is probably best to get it to-go. They are also a tortilleria, which means that you can buy their freshly made tortillas $3 for every 2 lb. order. Also, this might be a bit confusing but despite the building being marked as Ruiz Barbacoa/Tortilleria the establishment is actually Las Novias.

Food Service goes from 5:30am - 3:00pm everyday (7 days a week)

You can buy there tortillas from 5:30am - 8:00pm (7days a week)

Las Novias Taqueria / Ruiz Tortilleria

6641 Canal St.

Houston, TX 77011

713-926-0123

Food service goes from 5:30am - 3:00pm everyday (7 days a week)

You can buy there tortillas from 5:30am - 8:00pm (7 days a week)

Charbroiled Standard - Annie's Burgers
In the battle of classic burgers joints between Lankford Ford Grocery, Sparkles, Annie's and Guys Meat Market to name a few many peoples loyalties overshadow their taste buds. Growing up on fast food these loyalty feuds have sparked an interest in me to search out true burger joints and other dives and bring some insight on other people favorites.
Annie's has been touted as the classic burger joint in Houston and well there are some truths to the reputation.

Located on South Post Oak spotting the joint is a bit of a task. I got there around 11:00 on a Friday to avoid the lunch rush. Not having had any breakfast I opted to have a taste of their breakfast tacos as well as a burger for lunch. Annie's offered a variety of choices for breakfast options, including pancakes, biscuits and other southern favorites, but people tend to gravitate towards the tacos, so I chose tacos. After a quick look at the burger menu, a cheeseburger seemed like the fairest review for a Houston favorite. Prior to entering I did read some Yelp reviews most of which had mentioned their frozen lemonade which was, in one woman's words, "to die for". So their it was, I ordered two breakfast tacos, one sausage and egg, one bacon and egg, a frozen lemonade, a double cheeseburger and to top it off onion rings. I was surprised by the bill but decided not to cast judgment just yet. So Annie's, like any classic diner, has plenty of seating and a  condiments bar-which only had tabasco, napkins, salt and pepper. After about ten minutes I heard my order called over the PA system.

The breakfast tacos

The breakfast tacos came with two salsas, one mild and one that was supposed to be hot. Both tacos were amply packed with their fillings. The sausage and egg taco was in one word, moist and lacked flavor which the salsa didn't truly made up for. Now the real star was the bacon in the second taco which was cooked to what I consider to be perfection  a mix of crunchy and tender but overall thick and flavorful. If you plan on going to Annie's definitely try the bacon.

The double cheeseburger

Classically wrapped in a wax paper wrapper Annie's burger definitely looked classic, it was sloppy, greasy and cheesy. Topped with a thick slice of beef stake tomato, a thick layer of iceberg lettuce, some onion, American cheese and two beef patties, Annie's burger was classically char broiled. It did not blow my mind but the burge admirably ticked all the check-boxes a cheeseburger should. People have complained about Annie's patties lacking flavor or any seasoning but I found the char broiled taste to compensate for any shortcomings. That's it, Annie's double cheeseburger was a standard char broiled cheeseburger that left me feeling that Burger King did not have a monopoly on the char broiled burger.

Onion rings

The true star of the Annie's experience has to be the onion rings. Big, thick, fluffy and crunchy while retaining a sweet onion-ness that is often all too lacking in other rings, these were on point. Large, cooked to perfection, and full of flavor, Annie's onion rings did not really need the in house made sauce-but the sauce IS good. .

Frozen lemonade

Standard frozen lemonade that can be found at a variety of fairs, circuses, and music festivals monopolized by beer stands. Its mediocrity can be overlooked thanks to its super-sized serving.

Price

The burger alone was five-something, but I went ahead and have provided a picture of the receipt.
Note #5 T1 is for the two breakfast tacos.

Parking: Average lot, ample.

Atmosphere: It was a diner.


Annie's Burgers
http://www.annieshamburgers.com/
10821 S. Post Oak
Houston, TX 77035
713-729-8661
Mon.-Wed. - 10:30am-7:00pm
Thur.-Sun - 7:00am-7:00pm

Elevation Burger

Just ok.

If you go definitely don't go for one party, the burgers are on the smaller side. The patty had little to no seasoning so the it was a very natural/bland taste. Their menu is set up in a five guys way where you select the patty you want then add toppings. Standard toppings. 
The overall taste wasn't different. I'd maybe go back for the vegan burger but not really. 
I ordered:
Elevation Burger: 2 patties.
Toppings: raw onion, pickles, lettuce, ketchup, mayo. 
No drink, no fries. 
Price/tax included -7.46

The have frequency cards you can get punched every time you get a burger.